How Do Babies’ Sleep Evolve?
Babies’ sleep changes as they grow. If a child is sleep deprived, this has consequences for their physical and mental health, as well as having an impact on the rest of the family.
Anyone who is a mother or father certainly remembers the first nights with constant interruptions of sleep to feed the baby. Of course, we would all like to sleep straight through, but the way babies and children sleep changes as they grow.
How does this change in childhood sleep happen? How many hours should babies and children sleep? We will answer these questions in the following lines.
Babies’ sleep evolves as they grow
To begin with, we must say that sleep is evolutionary, that is, it changes according to the child’s age. Babies aged 0 to 4 months need to learn to sleep, so a baby aged 3 months cannot sleep the same way as a 7-year-old child. Everyone has different needs and therefore their sleep cannot be the same either.
Circadian rhythms are responsible for controlling sleep, indicating the amount of the hormone that relaxes us (melatonin) and the stress hormone (cortisol) that we must secrete. These rhythms are regulated by the alternation of day and night, and are also fundamental for cell regeneration, brain activity, among other things.
In babies under 4 months, circadian rhythms still do not work as they are regulated by sunlight. Besides, babies still don’t distinguish when it’s day and when it’s night. Therefore, they do not have sleep patterns to help them sleep as these will develop later.
How do babies sleep during the first few months?
Babies between 0 and 4 months sleep and wake up according to other needs, for example, because they are hungry or thirsty, or because they feel uncomfortable. So, your sleep cycles usually last around 40 or 50 minutes.
It is after 4 months that sleep begins to follow circadian rhythms and goes through its five phases: one REM and four non-REM. Cycles can now last from 90 to 120 minutes.
That’s when we have to establish the sleep patterns that we want to teach babies to sleep. From that moment on, the hours of sleep that the child needs on a daily basis will gradually decrease as he/she grows up.
How many hours should a child sleep for their age?
As with adults, when a child does not sleep long enough, he feels more irritable, lacks concentration, and his performance on any task will suffer.
So, as parents, we can ask ourselves how many hours children should sleep as they grow. Therefore, we will try to answer this question by taking into account the information provided by the American Pediatric Association.
The sleep of newborn babies
Newborns need many hours of sleep a day because they still have a lot to develop. This means they can sleep 7 hours or more, both during the day and at night.
The sleep of babies between 4 and 12 months
During these ages, babies need 12 to 16 hours of sleep a day.
- From 4 to 5 months, 4 hours of sleep during the day (divided into 3 naps).
- From 6 months, 3 hours during the day (2 naps daily).
The sleep of 1 to 2 year old babies.
Including naps, 1 to 2 year olds need 11 to 14 hours of sleep. At this age, the number of naps is reduced to one per day, which means that they would need 1.5 to 2 hours of sleep during the day.
From 3 to 5 years old
Children between 3 and 5 years old need 10 to 13 hours of sleep with a daily nap.
From 6 to 12 years old
During these ages, sleep is reduced to 9 to 12 hours a day, depending on each child.
In adolescence
Teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a day. Although at these ages it is more difficult to control how long our children sleep, it is important to explain the need and importance for physical and mental health of sleeping this amount of hours.
Tips to improve children’s sleep
In order for children to have a good rest, it is important to establish some sleep habits, which we should do from 4 months onwards, as this is when sleep starts to get regular. Let’s see some tips for our children to sleep better.
Establish some bedtime rituals
If we repeat the same routine before putting the children to bed, they will begin to relax and prepare for bed. An example of a routine would be showering before dinner, having dinner, reading a story, and sleeping.
set times
This is important. We must get the children used to going to bed and waking up at the same time. This way, we will also help them to sleep the amount of hours necessary according to their age.
Do not use television, tablet or cell phone before bedtime
The light from the screens activates the children’s brains and prevents them from relaxing. Therefore, we should avoid them anyway and instead of using them, we can talk as a family or read a book.
Leave the room in suitable conditions for sleep
The room must have adequate sleeping conditions, such as correct temperature, good ventilation, adequate humidity (especially if we have heating), absence of noise, etc.
In short, as you can see, babies’ sleep changes as they get older, as their needs become different as they get bigger.
These tips can help you establish a proper sleep pattern for your children. Now you know how important it is for children to sleep the amount of hours necessary for them to have good physical and mental health. So, everyone to bed!
